Marlins to Reyes: Bienvenido a Miami!

In Florida, Tampa has the Rays and now Miami has the Reyes. As in shortstop Jose Reyes. Multiple sources are reporting that Reyes and the Miami Marlins have agreed on a six-year deal, worth a reported $106 million. Hence ending the “Jose Reyes Era” in New York, as it were.

AP Jose Reyes and Mike Stanton will get reacquainted as teammates in Miami.

Do Reyes’ stats warrant a contract like that? Sure. Is he worth the risk at those years and that money? Probably not. Although perhaps a change of scenery and climate will be an added plus for Jose in both health and production.

During his time with the Mets, Reyes won a batting title, led the league in hits once, triples four times and steals three times. Additionally, Reyes was a four-time All-Star with the Mets. Reyes will join former Mets teammate Health Bell in Miami, as the Mets continue to search for a shortstop and closer.

Inevitably this move will shift incumbent Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez to either third base, center field (because he’s such a selfless team-oriented guy) or to another team altogether.

Back to where this puts the Mets in this equation. If I were them I’d send Ruben Tejada out there and see if he’s the future. It can’t possibly be a worse option than throwing a stopgap out there like Alex Gonzalez, Jack Wilson or Alex Cora. There’s still a plethora of closing options out there and I’d fully expect the Mets to wait the market out for the prices to drop.